Reliable, Trustworthy Reporting, Capturing The Heartbeat Of Our Community
Reliable, Trustworthy Reporting, Capturing The Heartbeat Of Our Community
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In 2025, a total of 367 cases of pertussis were reported to the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services. Pertussis, also known as whooping cough, is a highly contagious bacterial respiratory illness that spreads easily from person to person through coughing or sneezing. Early pertussis symptoms often resemble a common cold, including a runny nose, sneezing, mild cough, or low-grade fever. Within one to two weeks, symptoms may worsen into severe coughing fits that can cause vomiting, extreme fatigue, or a high-pitched “whoop”. Some peo...
The month of January is Cervical Cancer Prevention Month. The Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services encourages women to schedule regular Pap tests and discuss other preventive measures, such as the Human Papillomavirus vaccine, with their healthcare providers, to dramatically lower the risk of developing cervical cancer. According to the National Institutes of Health, the five-year relative survival rate for cervical cancer is 67% overall. However, that rate jumps to 91% when the...
Dr. Ali Khan knelt down outside a Karachi doorway and extended his hand. The young girl who, moments earlier, had just received the polio vaccine extended her hand and a skeptical look toward the smiling doctor in a red hat emblazoned with a white N. "On the front lines in Karachi, meeting a superstar who just got her polio protection. Every drop counts!" Khan wrote in an October social media post accompanying the photo. The dean of the College of Public Health at the University of Nebraska...
Four confirmed measles cases in Platte County have been reported to the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services, all of which are limited to a single household, with two cases currently active. Thus far, no community spread has been identified. Due to privacy, no further information will be provided. Immunization is the most effective way to protect against the measles and other vaccine-preventable diseases. Children should receive the first dose of the measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine between 12 and 15 months of age, followed by a...
A confirmed measles case in Platte County has been reported to the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services. The patient is an unvaccinated child with an out-of-state travel history in Arizona. Due to privacy, no further individual information will be provided. Individuals present at the following public locations on the indicated dates and times may have been exposed to measles and should visit and fill out the risk assessment survey at the following link: https://ep...
Let's call her Sarah, although that wasn't her name. I'd had the privilege of delivering her, and the fun of watching her grow into a precocious toddler, with an impish smile and a joyous laugh. Then I had the responsibility of explaining her autopsy report to her devastated parents. She'd died from an infection that her young, previously healthy body just couldn't fight. It hadn't taken long; she'd started running a fever the night before, and her parents brought her to the clinic the next... Full story
A confirmed measles case in Sheridan County has been reported to the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services. The patient is an appropriately vaccinated child with no out-of-state travel history. Due to privacy, no further individual information will be provided. Individuals present at the following public locations at the indicated date and times may have been exposed to measles and should visit and fill out the risk assessment survey at the following link: https://...
Molly Pofahl had big plans for the $370,000 in federal money awarded to the East Central District Health Department in March. They would use the money to provide cleanup for homes with high lead levels in Boone, Colfax, Nance and Platte counties, said Pofahl, the department’s chief public health officer. They could make it easier for people living in the district’s rural areas to get vaccinated. She planned to get training for her staff to better teach central Nebraskans about preventing infections. Lessons learned during COVID-19 informed the...
Over 100 years ago, the gold mining industry of South Africa had a problem: too many workers were dying from pneumonia. They turned to Dr. Almorth Wright, a British physician who had successfully created a vaccine against typhoid fever that saved countless lives of British soldiers in World War I and other wars. Wright and his colleagues developed an inoculation of killed pneumococci bacteria which resulted in a substantial reduction of cases of pneumonia and death in the miners. Pneumonia is...
It’s human nature to tell stories about the past and doctors aren’t immune to that impulse. The second year medical students rotating through my clinic have me reflecting on my own years as a fledgling physician, and the changes I’ve seen in my decades of practice. I remember one late evening spent in the PICU watching over a toddler who had meningitis. At one point I turned and bumped into a bedrail, which came crashing down. Both my preceptor and I jumped and I probably even shrieked. The child, however, didn’t even blink. That’s when we k...
North Central District Health Department recently released a community update on the rise in Measles cases in the U.S. Be aware that measles cases are on the rise in the United States, and while Nebraska has not seen this yet. NCDHD staff said, "Now is the time to make sure you and your family are up to date on your vaccinations. The State of Nebraska has issued a statement encouraging prioritization of vaccinations to safeguard communities. MMR, the vaccine that covers measles, is given at 12...
North Central District Health Department will sponsor a vaccine clinic, Friday, in Orchard at the community center. The clinic will run from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. Vaccines for influenza, shingles, Tdap, RSV, pneumonia and COVID-19 will be available....
Spring is finally here in the Northern Plains and summer feels just around the corner. As all we Northerners know, as soon as the temperatures hit even a mild degree on the thermometer, most of us shed the jackets and long pants and our skin is front-and-center. The sunny season is prime season for mosquitoes and ticks, along with the itchy bites and all the unpleasant infections they can carry. Different species of mosquitoes and ticks can transmit different bacteria and viruses and, around...
ANDREW ELLSWORTH, M.D. One late summer day, fresh out of residency and seeing patients for the first time as a full-fledged family physician, I examined a young man who had a fever, fatigue and a bad headache. Considering the time of year, influenza was low on the list of possibilities, and COVID-19 did not yet exist. After a physical exam and listening to his story, I ordered some tests, which resulted in a diagnosis of West Nile virus. Now that we are entering the later half of the summer, the weather and environment are prime for West Nile...
The Legislature spent four hours this past week debating LB 906, which focuses on employer vaccine mandates. As amended by Health and Human Services Committee amendments, LB 906 would apply to businesses with one or more employees but would only pertain to the COVID-19 vaccine. LB 906 clarifies that if an employer requires employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19, an exemption to the mandate is allowed for a medical reason, accompanied by a signed statement from their health care...
Cancer is a broad term which encompasses many different diseases and each type of cancer has different patterns and tendencies. But at its core, cancer means a group of cells which is growing uncontrollably, due to one or multiple genetic mutations. Cancer prevention is a topic we see frequently in the media and it can be hard to separate fact from fiction. Truthfully, many cancers occur at random, and even modern science does not yield any clues as to how to prevent such cancers. Supplements...
The public hearing on LB 1023 was held Thursday, Feb. 10 before the Natural Resources Committee. It reflects the work of the Statewide Tourism and Recreational Water Access and Resource Sustainability Special Committee and proposes to adopt the Lake Development Act and the Water Recreation Enhancement Act. I was appointed to serve on the STAR WARS Committee, stemming from the passage of LB 406, last year. In addition to recommendations to construct a 3,600-acre lake in or near Sarpy County and...
Health and wellness of the community will be discussed Nov. 12, from 1 to 3 p.m. at the Holt County Annex, as part of the community health assessment process. Individuals are invited to offer input at the event, sponsored by North Central District Health Department The district reported 218 new COVID-19 cases in the district, Monday. The last reporting period was on Nov. 1. Free rapid COVID-19 testing will be offered Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, from 2 to 3 p.m. To register, individuals should call Cherry County Hospital at 402-376-2525 or...
North Central District Health Department will have booster doses available for persons who received Moderna and Janssen or Johnson & Johnson, Covid-19 vaccines who meet the criteria. In addition, Pfizer booster doses will continue to be available at all future NCDHD sponsored clinics. Eligible persons will be able to get a single booster dose of once their primary vaccination series is complete. The following criteria must be met: • Must be over 18 years of age. • Must have completed a pri...
North Central District Health Department now has official orders for third-dose boosters for the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine. Eligibility requirements include: • Person is over 18; • Person must have received Pfizer for the first series of two vaccines; • Person must have received last Pfizer dose at least six months prior; • Person falls into one of the following categories: - People who should receive the booster: people 65 years and older, residents in long-term care settings, people aged 50–64 years with underlying medical condition...
A drive-through flu shot clinic will be held Monday, Oct. 4, from 2 to 5:30 p.m. at the Summerland School parking lot. It will be open to staff, students and community members. North Central District Health Department is partnering with the school to offer flu, Tdap, pneumonia, shingles and COVID vaccines. A high-dose vaccine will be available for individuals over 65. NCDHD accepts most insurance, Medicare and NE Medicaid. They are an approved provider for Vaccines for Children and Adult...
It is September, fall is in the air and what we might call "respiratory season" is nearly upon us. Respiratory season refers to the colder months in which we spend much of our time indoors, maybe October through March. Normally, this season correlates with when we see high rates of typically seasonal respiratory infections, such as influenza and respiratory syncytial virus or RSV. Living through the COVID-19 pandemic has given us knowledge we can use to greatly decrease the spread of all respira...
This summer I attended the celebration of life service for Dr. Rick Holm, the original Prairie Doc who founded this newspaper column, a radio show and a television show now entering its 20th season. He died from pancreatic cancer in March 2020 during the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic and thus, there was no public service at the time. Many friends and family gathered to celebrate Rick. We sat on lawn chairs, shared tales and sang songs in a beautiful park on a gorgeous evening. We recalled...
North Central District Health Department has been made aware of 59 new COVID-19 cases in the district since last reporting period on Aug. 16. Case count update as of 3 p.m., Monday, Aug. 23, includes: 4,723 total cases, 4,500 recoveries and 76 deaths, to date; and 101 total cases reported in the last 14 days. NCDHD is no longer ableto release county-based data in our districts due to HIPAA standards. Previously, the health depaprtment was granted special privileges to release the county- based...
North Central District Health Department has set times for walk-ins during vaccination clinics. Individuals who already have a scheduled appointment time should arrive at that time. Clinics will dispense Pfizer, Johnson and Johnson and/or Moderna vaccines. Walk-in locations and times include: Aug. 31: Greater Sandhills Family Healthcare - Atkinson, 9 to 11:30 a.m. and 1 to 4:30 p.m., Moderna and Pfizer; Avera Creighton Hospital, 1 to 3 p.m., Moderna; Rock County Clinic, 1 to 4:15 p.m., Moderna;...
